Glass has been the most natural way to store water for thousands of years.

Due to the explosion of the bottled water industry which now rakes in over $100 billion annually worldwide, it’s hard to remember a time when if you wanted water all you would have to do is walk over to a faucet or filtered pitcher and fill a glass up or stop by a drinking fountain to get a sip.

The effect that bottled water has had on the world the last few decades, both environmentally and personal health, is staggering.

The fact that nearly every piece of plastic ever made still exists today is a significant factor when considering your water bottle use impact on the world around you. Currently, 50 percent of the plastic we use is used just once and then thrown away, and only 5 percent of produced plastic is recovered. Every year the amount of plastic thrown away can circle the Earth 4 times.

Americans alone use about 50 billion plastic water bottles each year. Making bottles to meet America’s demand alone for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year. The amount of water used to produce a single-use water bottle can be up to 3 times higher than the actual amount of water in the bottle. The reality is that 44 percent of single-use bottled water is municipal tap water which has undergone further purification so there really is no logical reason to buy single-use water bottles.

The organic synthetic compound Bisphenol A (BPA) factor of singe-use plastic water bottles and some plastic-lined aluminum and other metal reusable water bottles is something that has been getting a lot of attention recently. Some research has shown that BPA can seep into food or beverages from containers that are made with BPA. Exposure to BPA is a concern because of possible health effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. However, based on review of hundreds of studies the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that BPA is safe at the very low levels that occur in some foods. The FDA is continuing its review of BPA, including supporting ongoing research.

According to “Toxic risk in bottled water?” from Royal Society of Chemistry, research conducted by William Shotyk found that antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting and death.

So what to do to stay hydrated in a way that is good for the Earth and all the living things on it? One word: Glass

Glass is made from nontoxic raw materials (silica, sand, soda ash, limestone and up to 70 percent recycled glass) making glass the only packaging material certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as “generally regarded as safe.” Glass is nonporous and impermeable, so there are no interactions between glass packaging and products to affect the flavor of food and beverages. No nasty aftertaste – ever.

Glass can be recycled endlessly with no loss in quality or purity. In the US today, about 80 percent of glass containers are recycled, compared with less than 25 percent of plastic containers. Recycled glass, also called cullet, requires a lower heating temperature than glass from raw materials, thus requiring 40 percent less energy. An estimated 80 percent of recovered glass containers are made into new glass products in a closed-loop system, creating no additional waste or by-products. Furthermore, energy costs drop about 2-3 percent for every 10 percent of cullet used in the manufacturing process.

To lessen your plastic footprint and enjoy a purer taste, the answer is simple: Choose glass.

Thanks for checking in. We recently launched the world’s first plastic-free and truly glass water bottle made from only two materials: silicone and glass. Our bottles provide a great alternative to those who are trying to move away from plastics and plastic chemicals. Check out our featured bottles below.